Category Archives: Masculine Cards

A card making group I belong to had a challenge this month — give away two of your cards at random. Easy enough, right? Well, maybe not. I decided that one of the mine would go to a contractor I’ve worked with in the past. He was coming over to give me an estimate for some additional work on my condo. I thought it would be nice to make a couple thank you cards for him to have on hand for clients or coworkers.

But when I sat down to design the cards, I found myself a little stumped. These were different than most cards I make. There were for a guy to possibly give to another guy. That seemed to eliminated probably 90% of my card stock, punches and stamps! OK, maybe I exaggerate slightly, but it definitely made me rethink my usual “go to” designs.

According to the Greeting Card Association, women purchase 80% of all greeting cards, and spend more time selecting the ones they do purchase than men do. So it wouldn’t surprise me if similar numbers (or more) of women than men make cards and so logically the designs on those products are naturally geared towards a female audience. Butterflies, flowers and bright colors seem to dominate the design landscape. No wonder men stay away.

So what makes a “man’s card” and how does one make one? The card at the top of this page is what I ended up giving to my contractor. It was pure coincidence that Mary Fish, a spectacular Stampin’ Up! demonstrator whose blog I follow daily, posted today about masculine cards. One of her tips for these designs is to keep it simple, but don’t be afraid to add a splash of color – pretty much the path I took when I added the medium blue accent to set off the browns.

How else can you add that extra “something” when ribbons, buttons, and (gasp) glitter are off the table? First, try bold, not bright colors. Pastels, though pretty, aren’t going to cut it. Go with strong colors — red, blue, orange. Second, find boldly patterned papers to add some interest. In its 2015 Occasions catalog, Stampin’ Up! recognized the “man niche” with its Adventure Bound Designer Series Paper stack. These designs, with some plaids as well as some photographic images of bricks, trees, logs and stones, give a wide variety to let your imagination soar while still coordinating with several of Stampin’ Up!’s card stocks.

Or, make your own patterned paper. This “Designer Series Paper” made with Stampin’ Up!’s Gorgeous Grunge stamp set, and several Stampin’ Up! inks — Cherry Cobbler, Chocolate Chip, Sahara Sand, Not Quite Navy (retired), and Pumpkin Pie on a piece of Whisper White card stock. I just randomly stamped, starting with the thin parallel line stamp, followed by the thick slanted line stamp, and finishing with the random spots stamp in two different colors.

As noted, I used Gorgeous Grunge for my paper, but Stampin’ Up! sells many sets that can be used to make your own paper. These include, but are not limited to: